This study explores how the use of imputed earnings data to measure income in the Survey of Income and Program Participation affects the observed relationship between household income volatility and food insufficiency. The study finds that the inclusion of imputed earnings data when measuring income volatility substantially understates the association between large drops in household income and food insufficiency. After excluding observations with imputed earnings, large drops in income are associated with a 1.3 percentage point increase in the probability of food insufficiency, although the estimate is not statistically significant at conventional levels. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.
From 2000-07, median spending on food by U.S. households declined by 12%, and by 6% relative to the Consumer Price Index for Food and Beverages. Over the same period, the national prevalence of very low food security increased by about one-third, from 3.1% of households in 2000 to 4.1% in 2007. The deterioration in food security was greatest in the second-lowest income quintile. These estimates are corroborated by corresponding declines in food expenditures by middle- and low-income households. The declines in food spending by middle- and low-income households were accompanied by increases in spending for housing and, in the two lowest income quintiles, by declines in income and total spending. Charts and tables.
The United States is viewed by the world as a country with plenty of food, yet not all households in America are food secure, meaning access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. A proportion of the population experiences food insecurity at some time in a given year because of food deprivation and lack of access to food due to economic resource constraints. Still, food insecurity in the United States is not of the same intensity as in some developing countries. Since 1995 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has annually published statistics on the extent of food insecurity and food insecurity with hunger in U.S. households. These estimates are based on a survey measure developed by the U.S. Food Security Measurement Project, an ongoing collaboration among federal agencies, academic researchers, and private organizations. USDA requested the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies to convene a panel of experts to undertake a two-year study in two phases to review at this 10-year mark the concepts and methodology for measuring food insecurity and hunger and the uses of the measure. In Phase 2 of the study the panel was to consider in more depth the issues raised in Phase 1 relating to the concepts and methods used to measure food security and make recommendations as appropriate. The Committee on National Statistics appointed a panel of 10 experts to examine the above issues. In order to provide timely guidance to USDA, the panel issued an interim Phase 1 report, Measuring Food Insecurity and Hunger: Phase 1 Report. That report presented the panel's preliminary assessments of the food security concepts and definitions; the appropriateness of identifying hunger as a severe range of food insecurity in such a survey-based measurement method; questions for measuring these concepts; and the appropriateness of a household survey for regularly monitoring food security in the U.S. population. It provided interim guidance for the continued production of the food security estimates. This final report primarily focuses on the Phase 2 charge. The major findings and conclusions based on the panel's review and deliberations are summarized.
Most U.S. households with children have consistent, dependable access to adequate food for active, healthy living for both adults and children -- they are food secure. However, 21 percent of households with children were food insecure at times during the year in 2011, and in some of those households, children as well as adults were food insecure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monitors the extent and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households through an annual, nationally representative survey, with special attention to households with children. Food security is especially important for children because their nutrition affects not only their current health, but also their physical, mental, and social development -- and thus their future health and well-being. Previous studies suggest that children living in food-insecure households face elevated risks of many problematic health and development outcomes, compared with children in otherwise similar food-secure households. USDAs domestic food and nutrition assistance programs improve childrens food security by providing low-income households with access to a healthful diet and nutrition education.Knowledge about the extent of food insecurity in households with children and the household characteristics associated with food insecurity contributes to the effective operation of these and other programs that support the well-being of children. This book describes the extent and severity of food insecurity in households with children in 2011, food security trends since 1999, and characteristics of households affected by food insecurity in 2010 and 2011.
Most U.S. households have consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy living--they are food secure. But a minority of American households experience food insecurity at times during the year, meaning that their access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources. USDA's food and nutrition assistance programs increase food security by providing low-income households access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education. USDA also monitors the extent and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households through an annual, nationally representative survey sponsored and analyzed by USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS). Reliable monitoring of food security contributes to the effective operation of the Federal food assistance programs, as well as that of private food assistance programs and other government initiatives aimed at reducing food insecurity. This book presents statistics from the survey covering households' food security, food expenditures, and use of Federal food and nutrition assistance programs in 2014.
Eighty-five percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2008, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.6 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 5.7 percent with very low food security ¿ meaning that the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food. Prevalence rates of food insecurity and very low food security were the highest recorded since 1995, when the first national food security survey was conducted. Charts and tables.
